Della Valle's late heroics lift Reggio Emilia

In a hard-fought battle that went down to the wire, Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia registered its first win in Group B by downing Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul 74-71 at home on Wednesday. Reggio Emilia improved to 1-1, while Galatasaray, the 2015-16 EuroCup champion, dropped to 0-2. Amedeo Della Valle led the winners with 27 points on 6-of-11 three-point shooting and Jalen Reynolds posted 23 points on 11-of-15 two-point shooting and 14 rebounds. Julian Wright added 13 points for Reggio Emilia. Scotty Hoppson paced Galatasaray with 18 points and Emir Preldzic scored 13 for the visitors, which led 57-64 midway through the fourth quarter. Della Valle stepped up big for the hosts, capping a 15-2 run with back-to-back three-pointers that sealed the outcome down the stretch.

Reynolds got Reggio Emilia going with a layup and followed a running hook with a put-back slam for a 6-5 lead. DaJuan Summers and Dwight Hardy stepped for Galatasaray to give their team a 9-12 edge. Reynolds got some help from Wright and Garrett Nevels, but Rakeem Christmas scored in the paint and Preldzic added 4 free throws to tie it at 18-18 after 10 minutes. An up-and-under layup by Goksenin Koksal gave Galatasaray an 18-22 edge early in the second quarter. Reynolds managed to tie the game, 22-22, but Preldzic and Hopson combined for all the points in a 0-8 run that gave the visitors a 22-30 margin. Galatasaray found a new go-to guy in Christmas, who made it a double-digit game, 24-35. Della Valle struck from downtown and fed Wright for an alley-oop slam that helped Reggio Emilia get within 31-36 at halftime.

Della Valle took over after the break, scoring 7 quick points as the hosts tied it at 40-40. Another triple by Della Valle put the hosts ahead, 45-44. Richard Hendrix and Alex Renfroe rescued Galatasaray, but Reynolds dunked twice and Della Valle added free throws to make it 52-53 Reggio Emilia through three quarters. Hopson, Summers and Christmas each dunked early in the fourth quarter to give Galatasaray a 57-64 edge. Della Valle shined with 8 points in a 15-2 run that he capped with back-to-back triples. Markoishvili nailed a jumper that sealed the outcome at 74-69 with 31 seconds left.

Head Coaches

MENETTI, MASSIMILIANO

Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia

"It’s a magic night for us, we are living a dream. We couldn’t have imagined a game like this. We played against a great club in a great arena and I would like to underline this, there was a link between the club, the fans and the team. The new keyword is trust; we have to feel this trust because the fans gave us strength, also in the bad moments, and that’s why we are living this magic night. We have to believe in this team, in these guys. Leo Candi played in the second Italian League last season and played the last seven minutes of the game like a veteran tonight. That was an example of what our guys did tonight."

KUNTER, ERMAN

Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul

"Honestly, this is a very big frustration for us. Reggio Emilia played well in our most difficult moments. In money time, the game was over for some of our players. You must raise your head and keep fighting. The first time they pass in front, we were finished and after that, we couldn't run any plays, any defense... we completely lost our discipline. We knew that Reggio Emilia was a good team. We knew that and played very serious, but like I said before, the first time that they passed in front of us, by 2-3 points, we were mentally finished. I think it is not professional, this is not possible."

Players

REYNOLDS, JALEN

Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia

"We knew what kind of game this was for us tonight. We obviously wanted to come in and execute. I haven’t been having my best games lately, but I knew what I had to do tonight with Ricky [Cervi] being out. I hope he has a speedy recovery. And I’m glad we got the W tonight, we definitely deserved it. "

HENDRIX, RICHARD

Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul

"I think it was a really competitive game between two great EuroCup teams. They made shots down the stretch, we had controlled the game and fought a lot in the second half. But they made shots down the stretch and you have to give them credit. They are a good team and fed off its crowd. We have to bounce back against Darussafaka [in the Turkish League] on Saturday."

CLINE, TJ

Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul

"These are not the results that we would like to have. We have dug ourselves a little bit of a hole being 0-2 in the group. We have to get back on the practice court, get to work and try to figure this thing out, try to bounce back."